New Polish military force worries political opposition

WARSAW — The Polish parliament on Wednesday approved the creation of a new territorial defense force aimed at deterring a possible Russian attack that critics say could end up serving as the armed wing of the ruling right-wing Law and Justice party.

The force would be made up of 53,000 part-time soldiers stationed throughout the country by 2019. That would constitute a third of all Polish military personnel.

The bill still has to be approved by the Polish Senate, where the government has a majority.

“The units are the cheapest way to increase the strength of the armed forces and the defense capabilities of the country,” Antoni Macierewicz, Poland’s defense minister, told reporters. “It is also the best response to the dangers of a hybrid war like the one following Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.”

The government said the units will become Poland’s “fifth service,” alongside land, sea, air, and special forces. As the proposals currently stand, the units would have their own separate command center, and the head of the new force will report directly to Macierewicz, bypassing the command structure of the rest of the armed forces.

“It’s too early to say what precisely the government intends to do with these units,” said Marek Świerczyński, a defense analyst with Polityka Insight, a Warsaw think tank. “But it’s not too early to say that it appears to be constructing a parallel army outside of established military structures.”

“Minister Macierewicz is creating his own private army” — Katarzyna Lubnauer, deputy leader of the opposition Modern party

The defense ministry said about 6-8 percent of the troops will be made up of professional soldiers and command the volunteers. Members of paramilitary groups, rifle associations, and battle re-enactors are expected to play a major role. Membership of those organizations surged in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014.

“Our membership rose from about 6,000 at the beginning of 2014 to around 100,000 by the end of 2015,” said General Bogusław Pacek, founding president of the Federation of Pro-Defense Organizations, an umbrella group.

Political connections

Macierewicz is a close ally and confidant of Law and Justice (PiS) leader Jarosław Kaczyński. Unlike Kaczyński, his political roots can be traced to the radical nationalist right, making him a hero to many young right-wingers, and a valuable bridge to PiS’s right flank.

In testimony before a parliamentary committee earlier this year, defense ministry officials said the new force’s purpose “should be to strengthen the patriotic and Christian foundations of our defense system and the armed forces, with the patriotism and faith of Polish soldiers as the best guarantee of our security.”

Although some far-right leaders have said they plan to encourage their members to join the new paramilitary units, the government has maintained it would be wrong to exclude anyone on the basis of political beliefs. All recruits will be required to pass “psychological examinations,” the ministry told POLITICO in a statement.

According to the government’s plans, in addition to their military duties the units will have responsibility for “anti-crisis measures, anti-subversion, anti-terrorism and anti-disinformation in defense of civil security and the cultural heritage of the Polish nation.”

Some said that the government and the ruling party might be about to obtain a military wing.

“Minister Macierewicz is creating his own private army,” Katarzyna Lubnauer, deputy leader of the opposition Modern party, told reporters.

Critics point to a draft report published in April by the National Center for Strategic Studies (NCSS), a think-tank that has played a key role in the development of the government’s territorial defense program. The draft said that “equipped with machine-guns, a uniformed paramilitary formation can be an effective tool to prevent and deter anti-government activity.”

On Wednesday, parliament rejected an opposition amendment that would have prohibited the paramilitary units from being used against Polish citizens. However, both the NCSS and Law and Justice have disavowed any suggestion that the units could be used to intimidate the government’s opponents.

A force apart

Concerns have also been raised about the cost and viability of the project.

The project will cost 3.6 billion zlotys (over €800 million) between 2016 and 2019. The problem, say opponents, is that a well-equipped and highly-trained new force of tens of thousands of new soldiers would cost much more, while any program that sticks to the government’s projections is likely to result in badly-trained and poorly-equipped units contributing little to Poland’s defense.

“The majority of NATO countries are investing in upgrading the potential of operational forces, not in developing territorial defense,” said Bogdan Klich, a former defense minister under the previous Civic Platform party government. “The priority of investments should be to acquire new equipment for modern warfare.”

Even some of those not opposed to the project think it should eventually be brought under the same structure as the rest of the military.

“It might be that it is easier for the new force to be established under the direct supervision of the Ministry of National Defense,” said General Pacek. “But I would hope and expect that once it is created and operational, it would be integrated into the armed forces command structure.”

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bogdan

Right wing, extreme right etc. Awful rhetoric that will no doubt be repeated by the Western mainstream who usually have no idea about Poland or Polish politics. Almost seems we have nazi paramilitary units operating in Poland according to Davies junior. There is no need to whip up hysteria as Poland’s own defensive capability was seriously eroded by previous governments. Would you call Britain’s Territorial Army right wing led or inspired? I wouldn’t!

Posted on 11/16/16 | 11:44 PM CET

Bye, Bye lefties

in answer to Bogdan Klich – majority of NATO countries are not exposed to direct attack from the aggressor (Russia), have not been ever invaded by Russia…so need to develop territorial defence

Posted on 11/17/16 | 12:46 AM CET

Veritas-Semper

Worry warts, all. I suppose the Swiss should be excoriated en-mass for relying 100% on their territorial defense force. And, what about the Finns where their territorial defense force carries the heavy lifting. Not to mention the fact that all of Europe has some sort of territorial defense force in place – except for Poland… until now.

jb

I’m really impressed Chris. I have not read such nonsense for a long time.
When just 5 of 28 NATO members meet NATO’s defense spending goal it’s obvious that for Russian trolls exactly those five countries meeting spending target (with Poland among them) constitute a problem and not those 23 that undermine European defence capabilities by doing nothing or very little,

Posted on 11/17/16 | 3:35 PM CET

Suck It Up

One wonders whether they write all this BS because of laziness or bias or both. Why “sweat” looking at facts, and analyze, and be objective – that spells “work” for the “journalist”. It is so much easier and more fun to use ready scripts provided by the Polish leftardand corrupted schmucks. And then we know we can strongly rely on them for bias (it is known that all those schmucks and Brussels/German asskissers have been just dragged away from the trough by Polish voters). Then, after “writing an article” we head to pick up our paycheck. Oops, we do not have even do that, I forgot about direct deposit. So instead laughing all the way to the bank, we laugh clicking some buttons on our screen. Done.

Posted on 11/17/16 | 4:44 PM CET

Idzstad

And the fact that they excluded the clause about the forces being used against Polish citizens doesn’t concern you? If its a Polish territorial defence army doesn’t it seem slightly strange that they would be prepared to use it against their own citizens? Not to mention it not being controlled within the usual command structures and will instead answer to a nut job.

GTFO

not in a usual command structure and can be used against citizen rioting violently and looting. Now GTFO.

Posted on 11/17/16 | 6:26 PM CET

Cesar J. Wright

like Antonio replied I am inspired that some one able to get paid $unlimited in a few weeks on the computer . more info here ……….http://www.cashway9.com

Posted on 11/17/16 | 7:57 PM CET

jack Dunster

All military units should be under the command of the armed forces, not a politician. This is the creation of an SS, in fact, the purposes read the same. This is not the evolution of a democratic Poland – it is the creation of a fascist state. In fact, one cannot call this Poland – perhaps the label should be Kaczynskistan. Oh and Mr. Bgdan… I live in Poland too.. and I have a military background… Insidently, the name calling here in the comments section is further proof of the lurking fascism that is driving supporters of PISS…

Posted on 11/18/16 | 5:00 PM CET

Tomasz

This is a creation of a paramilitary wing of the PIS party. An extrime right wing and super religious movement, that is calling for deportation of all non catholic citizens. Their minister of economics says that the previous years of growth in economics and finanses has been an unnatural bulge! The party leader says that buisnessmen are sabotaising the economy of Poland. The minister of justice is punishing the police officers who dare to arrest the right wing hooligans that riot the street. The minister of education is rolling back all the school reforms of the past 25 years. The minister of transporatation says that the freeway the previous gouverment has build are only beneficialy to germans. The forreign minister says that the french learned form the polish how to use a fork. The minister of defense has canceled all the equipment purchases for the army. POLAND is becoming a fashist nation! Do the remaining Europe want that? If not, exlude Poland from the EU please. I am a pole and a patriot, but my grand parents and other ancesters did not give their lives for a fashist nation! Please HELP us Europe, please help us…